THE MEDIA; Unless F.C.C. Balks, Channel 9 Will Return to New York

By TERRY GOLWAY

Published: September 19, 2004

THREE decades ago, Marsha Stern headed a group called the New Jersey Coalition for Fair Broadcasting. Its seemingly quixotic goal: To challenge the licenses of every commercial television station in New York, with the intent of getting one to move to underserved and overlooked New Jersey.

After years of agitation, the coalition succeeded when WOR/Channel 9 moved from Manhattan to Secaucus in the mid-1980's.

To her astonishment, Ms. Stern may soon have to fight again -- this time to preserve the victory she helped win years ago.

The station, now known as WWOR/Channel 9, was absorbed into Rupert Murdoch's Fox Television empire in 2001 with the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. At the time, the decision by the watchdog agency was criticized by some since Fox already owned a commercial broadcast station, WNYW/Channel 5, in the New York market.

With Channel 9's focus on New Jersey already diminishing, Fox has announced plans to move much of its Secaucus operation into the headquarters of Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation in midtown Manhattan next year. Among other things, the move would mean the Channel 9 newscasts, currently broadcast from Secaucus, would be based instead on Sixth Avenue -- home of Channel 5 -- and its presence in New Jersey reduced to a news bureau.

For Ms. Stern, Fox's consolidation flies in the face of Channel 9's license, which mandates that the station serve northern New Jersey. ''It was an outrageous situation when New Jersey had no commercial television station to serve its people, and it will be an outrageous situation if WWOR is permitted to leave the state,'' she said.

Five New Jersey congressmen as well the state's two senators agree, and recently they sent a letter to the chairman of the F.C.C., Michael Powell, urging him and his fellow commissioners to ''evaluate this relocation'' because of Channel 9's mandated relationship with northern New Jersey. A spokeswoman for the commission acknowledged receiving the letter but declined further comment.

''New Jersey already suffers from a crisis of news coverage that is pertinent and specific to the state,'' said Representative Robert Menendez, a Democrat from Hudson County who was among the seven who signed the letter.

Of course, the media universe is not what it was when Channel 9 crossed the Hudson about 20 years ago. Commercial broadcast stations had a monopoly on the family living room, cable was in its infancy, and the worldwide Web was a phrase associated with global conspiracy theorists.

For New Jersey, the absence of a commercial television station fueled the sense that people in high places regarded the state as unimportant. So when Channel 9 moved to Secaucus, it was the media equivalent of the football Giants moving to East Rutherford. It was a source of local pride, a ratification that you could live west of the Hudson and be in the major leagues.

But now those emotions seem almost quaint. While New Jersey has not quite shaken its image as an editorial footnote, it does have its own 24-hour cable news channel, and the state's political aficionados have a Web site to surf several times a day. In addition, the New Jersey Network, a public television affiliate, offers state-specific public affairs programs and newscasts.

Nevertheless, nothing still packs the power of a commercial television station, says Matthew Hale, an assistant professor at Seton Hall University's Center for Public Interest. ''Despite the changes in the media universe, more people get their news from local television than from any other source, even with the rise of cable and the internet,'' said Professor Hale. ''So I do think local broadcast television matters.''

Professional pride has also come into play since Fox bought Channel 9 from UPN, owned by Viacom and Chris Craft. According to station sources who asked not to be identified, personnel at WWOR believe they have become the ignored stepchildren in this marriage.

And their identity is being swallowed up, too. ''Basically, Channel 9 looks more and more like Fox News,'' said Peter Reader, chairman of the communications department at Seton Hall. ''This dissipates the local, unique quality of the station. And then all we have is News 12, which not everybody can get.''

When Ms. Stern and her colleagues began campaign to bring a New York station to New Jersey in the early 1970's, their point was to gain a voice in the marketplace. One measure of their success was the respect Channel 9 gained in the 1990's, winning the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award, presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Since then, however, critics say the station's commitment to New Jersey has diminished. While the station broadcasts a public-affairs program on Sunday morning, ''New Jersey Matters,'' its nightly newscasts do not usually focus on state issues.

Fow now, there are signs that Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation is taking these complaints seriously, perhaps remembering how Channel 9 came to be based in Secaucus in the first place. Sources in Senator Frank R. Lautenberg's office said last week that lobbyists for the News Corporation have met with the legislator's staff about its plans to move much of WWOR's operations to Manhattan.

Few observers believe that Mr. Powell, a Republican appointed to head the F.C.C. by President Bush, will bar Mr. Murdoch's News Corporation --which consists of right-leaning media properties -- from proceeding with its plans.

But Ms. Stern did note that Channel 9's license will come up for renewal, and that she is prepared to fight again.

"If Mr. Murdoch doesn't want to run Channel 9 as a New Jersey station,'' she said, ''then he shouldn't run it anymore.''

Photo: Fox has announced plans to move much of Channel 9 from Secaucus to Manhattan. (Photo by Frank C. Dougherty for The New York Times)